Device for retaining the breech-block of automatic firearms in the rearward position when the magazine is empty.



H. BORCHARDT. DEVICE FOR RETAINING THE BREECH BLOCK 0F AUTOMATIC FIREAHMS IN THE REARWARD POSITION WHEN THEMAGAZINE IS EMPTY.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 2. 1912.

Patentedsept. 5,1916.

Attorn ey',

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

HUGO BORCHARDT, OF CHARLOTTENEURG, GERMANY.

DEVICE FOR To all whom t may concern .i

Be it known that I, HUGO BORCHARDT, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at 31 Kantstrasse, Charlottenburg, near Berlin,inthe German Empire, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Devices for Retainingthe Breech- Blocks of Automatic Firearms in the Rear- Ward Position lWhen the Magazine is Empty, of which the Vfollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to a vdevice for fire-` arms for locking the breech block in the rearward position when the magazine is empty. In the known devices of this kind the breech block is held in the open position by locking members which form a bearing, which are rigid in themselves and which therefore suffer considerably from the shocks particularly in the case of self loaders in which Ithe closing springs are relatively strong.

The'present invention has for its object a device in which, contrary to what is the case in these known devices' with rigid bearing, the breech closure is held by a. spring engaging device and is therefore resiliently supported so that the interengaging faces of the locking member and of the breech block are secured from injury due to shock and the like eve'n with the strongest closing springs.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in

f ward so that this nose a engages in a recess c. of the breech closure which again moves forward after the recoil. O n the rear end of the locking lever on its lower face a stirrupshaped projection a2 is provided and engages a stud g on the grip so that the locking lever is rotatable about this stud and displaceable in the forward direction. The.

RETAINING THE EREECH-BLOCK OF AUTOMATIC FIREARMS IN THE REARWARD POSITION WHEN THE MAGAZINE IS EMPTY.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

Application filed October 2, 1912. Serial No. 723,582.

` head b of a bolt l) which is arranged beneath the locking lever a in a recess in the breech block, its head being constantly pressed by a spring f rearward against the strrrupaz. bolt is guided in a hemispherical insertion b2 andthe recess in the breech closure which is clrcular in front merges into an oval at the rear so that the bolt is able to rotate in a vertical plane about its horizontal axis with the insertion. The nose a3 of the locking lever is located beneath the plane passing through the axis of rotation of the locking lever and of .the bolt b so that the bolt always tends to depress the nose a of the locking lever.

So long as the cartridge feed device p is not acting on the locking lever this lever` is held in the releasing position (Fig. 1). If, however, when the magazine is empty the nose p of the feed device presses upon the nose a of the locking lever the latter is rotated in opposition to the action of the spring f in such a manner that its nose enters the path of the breech block and retains it when it moves forward after firing (Fig. 2). The head of the bolt b is also pressed upward while the nose a3 of the locking lever remains below the plane passing through the axis of rotation of the locking lever and of the bolt. The breech block k which moves forward after the recoil, its recess 7c coming into engagement with the locking nose a presses the locking lever a forward in compressing the spring f (Fig. 3) and is then pressed back into the initial engaging position (Fig. 2) by the spring f which is stronger than the closing spring f. When after the insertion of a new full magazine by drawing back the breech closure the locking nose'a is released therefrom the locking lever a is rotated back into its initial position (Fig. 1) by the spring bolt b.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a firearm, the combination of a breech block, a breech closing spring, a member locking said breech block in its rearward position when the magazine is empty and capable of longitudinal movement, a spring The rear chamfered end of the4 acting on said locking member to retain same in its inoperative position, and a magazine follow-er engaging said locking member and bringing same into engagement wlth said breech block against the action of said spring when the magazine is empty.

2. In a firearm the combination of a breech block, a breech closing spring, a lever locking said breech block in its rearward position when the magazine is empty and capable of longitudinal and rotary movement, a spring pressed bolt bearing against an eX- tension of said locking lever in such a manner as to tend to retain said lever in its inoperative position, and a magazine follower engaging said locking lever and bringing a tooth on said lever into engagement with a recess in said breech block against the action of said bolt spring when the magazine is empty.

3. In a firearm the, combination of a breech block, a breech closing spring, a lever locking said breech block in its rearward position when the magazine is empty and capable of longitudinal and rotary movement, a spring pressed bolt guided in a rotatably mounted member and bearing against a downwardly extending portion of said locking lever and a magazine follower engaging said locking lever and bringing a tooth on said lever into engagement with a recess in said breech block against the action of said bolt spring when the magazine is empty.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

- HUGO BORCHARDT.

Witnesses: l

ROBERT MIGHALSKI, WOLDEMAR HAUPT. 

